Engaging, educating, and employing our nation’s youth in conservation are major priorities for the Department of the Interior (Department), and in 2009 the Youth in the Great Outdoors (YGO) initiative was established.

In 1869, John Wesley Powell led a small party down the Green and Colorado Rivers in a bold attempt to explore the Grand Canyon for the first time. After their monumental expedition, they told of raging rapids, constant danger, and breathtaking...

Jonathan Van Ballenberghe is the filmmaker for "In the Company of Moose." This film chronicles Biologist Vic Van Ballenberghe who has spent more time living with wild moose in Denali National Park, Alaska than any other researcher in the world.

Juan Martinez is Director, Natural Leaders Network within the Children & Nature Network. A proud product of south central Los Angeles, Juan D. Martinez is the national Natural Leaders Network coordinator for the Children & Nature Network. His...

Bigfoot is a legendary (some claim “imaginary”) ape-like human who has been reportedly sighted from California to Indiana. Battson will give a presentation on the facts and fictions of Bigfoot including analysis of recordings of Bigfoot and...

Randy Olson was a professor of marine biology at the University of New Hampshire. Despite his Harvard Ph.D., four years of post-doctoral research in Australia and Florida, and years of diving around the world from the Great Barrier Reef to...

William Souder’s work has appeared in many publications, including the Washington Post, New York Times, and Harper’s. He is the author of three books. A Plague of Frogs (2000) followed the investigation into outbreaks of deformed frogs across...

The following is a time line of significant events that have affected the land and ownership of the property now comprising the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), with an emphasis on the period from early European settlement until...